World IN BRIEF / MEXICO

Forced Pregnancy Tests Are Alleged

The U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report that international corporations are forcing women to undergo pregnancy tests before hiring them in assembly factories along the U.S.-Mexican border. The group said maquiladora factories owned by U.S., European and Asian firms continued to violate women's rights in breach of Mexican labor law by refusing to hire pregnant women. The report named several foreign companies, including German electronics giant Siemens, U.S. auto parts firm Lear Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.